Hey,I recently brought home a golden apple snail and put it in my 20g. I haven't had any invertebrates in this tank perviously so calcium is low. I put in crushed egg shell in a container to keep the snail growing for now but I need a more sustainble way (I've heard about crushed coral but unsure where to get it). I was thinking if varying it's diet would increase it's calcium intake?Please reply :)

Lupin

02-26-2011 09:00 AM

What are your pH and hardness levels? You need to know these because even if you feed calcium enriched foods, that will not be enough to sustain the shell assuming your water is soft and acidic. pH should not sink below 7.4. Dangerously low pH will cause irreparable damage. Damage on the suture (tail end) is in itself irreparable.

Get your crushed corals or aragonite from petstores. And keep checking the pH and hardness levels to see you have adjusted them high enough to minimize shell damage.

As for food intake, you may try feeding it seaweeds, collards and kale. Those are high in calcium content. Other options are plaster of Paris pucks (combined sinking pellets and Dap brand of plaster), cuttlefish bones, snail jello (with calcium supplements added) and calcium pills.

I've personally used plaster of Paris pucks making dozens of cubes in ice cube trays. The pellets are combined to attract the snails into chomping down the plaster of Paris as a means of calcium source. Each puck lasts 3-4 weeks depending on the number of snails eating them. Keep the pucks in the fridge or they'll grow molds and mildews on them.

Here's a list of fruits and vegetables based on calcium content.

Quote:

List of veggies for inverts

Here is a list of veggies and their calcium concentrations I found at www.applesnail.net there is also a list of the calcium to phosphorous ratio as this is also important for inverts. Phosphorous is known to cloud water, so when feeding veggies high in phosphorous be sure to be every dilligent with the water changes.

This is a list of vegetables and fruits along with the amount of calcium in each 100 gram portion. They are ranked in order from the ones that contain the most calcium to the ones that contain the least. I would caution us all to remember when feeding these foods that the phosphorous can have an ill effect on your water quality and may cause an algae bloom if the levels of phosphorous become too high.

My pH and hardness are fine for the snail said the person who sold it to me (he tested it),
I sunk lettuce in the tank and anchored it with the ornament but the snail hasn't been near it :/

Lupin

02-27-2011 08:09 AM

It may need more time to get accustomed to it. Is this snail a diffusa or canaliculata? Since you're in UK, you could easily obtain the canas that eat plants voraciously.

HMlairy

02-28-2011 12:14 PM

The description in the shop said this type doesn't eat plants too commonly :)
Still won't eat :/

Cynical Fish Guy

09-20-2013 07:27 PM

Haha, based off the info you have given me, I bet you have Pomacea diffusa I can also bet you didn't blanch your greens and instead put fresh greens into your tank. I did the same once. Take your greens out and nuke them in a cup of water. Keep the water in the microwave until it begins to boil. Once the boiling has started you can take the cup/glass of water out as well as the greens. Allow the greens to cool for about a minute and then re-introduce them to the snail. I bet you the snail starts to chow down. P.diffusa doesn't like fresh greens and prefers "matured greens". Only if starving will this species of snail eat living fresh greens. I know from experience. Hardy lil S.O.B. too.